Veteran actor Lilliput says his respect for Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra was mistaken for arrogance, caused misunderstandings
Veteran actor Lilliput has said that his respect for Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra was mistaken for arrogance, and caused misunderstandings.
Veteran actor Lilliput has said that although he received praise for his extended cameo in the recent film Kaamyaab, he doesn’t understand what was so special about his performance. He did, however, declare that the film’s lead actor, Sanjay Mishra, deserved a national award for his performance.
He told Mumbai Mirror, “Sanjay has outdone himself and should win National Award, Filmfare Award, all the awards for this one.” He added, “I didn’t perform well. There was no scene that required performing. Some people told me it was nice but I kept wondering what was so great about it.”
Lilliput said that he was never one to hobnob with the stars, and he would stick to his job on sets. He said, “On the sets, I would only be concerned with giving the required shot to the best of my ability and making sure to not create glitches. I thought that was enough. But people seek company and acceptance; they want others to laugh at their bad jokes (chuckles). It never occurred to me to do that.”
He said that although he was respected, his behaviour at certain times could have created misunderstandings with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan. “Dharam ji (Dharmendra) and Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) were two such people. But I had so much respect for them, I could never talk to them on their level. My respect transcended the normal, which led to misunderstandings. You think of them as gods, and they think of you as arrogant. It was up to me to clear the air, and I didn’t do it.”
He recalled another incident when the late Rishi Kapoor met him and wondered why he wasn’t working more often, but before he could tell him, Rishi had left. He said, “I met Rishi Kapoor— he was a lovely and bindaas man—at Mehboob Studio during the prayer meet for Dev saab (Dev Anand). He started abusing me, saying, ‘You’re such a good actor, why aren’t you working? You must!’ Before I could respond, Vinod Khanna arrived and the two proceeded to go inside. I wanted to tell him that I couldn’t grasp the grammar of the industry, that’s why I am unable to find work.”
Lilliput plays himself in Kaamyaab, about a side actor with 499 film credits to his name. The actor, played by Sanjay Mishra, makes it his mission to bag his 500th role, but at the cost of alienating his family.
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